Five people were shot dead and others injured in what police described as a “targeted attack” on a newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland on Thursday.

Maryland shooting suspect had vendetta against Capital Gazette paper

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The shooter was arrested minutes after he began the rampage by police without further exchange of gunfire. The suspect was identified as Jarrod Ramos, 38. On Friday, online court records showed Ramos was charged with five counts of first-degree murder and scheduled for a bond hearing at 10.30am in Annapolis. No defense attorney was listed, but the records suggested he could be represented by a public defender.

Ramos had a long history of antagonism towards the Capital Gazette newspaper. In 2012, he sued several editors at the paper, claiming defamation after one of its columnists, Eric Hartley, reported that Ramos had pleaded guilty to criminal harassment of a woman on social media. The lawsuit was dismissed by a judge in 2013 and the ruling upheld by a higher court in 2015, as the Capital Gazette itself reported.

In a late press briefing on Thursday, Anne Arundel police named the five employees who died. They were: Wendi Winters, Rebecca Smith, Robert Hiaasen, Gerald Fischman and John McNamara.

Hiaasen’s brother, the best-selling author Carl Hiaasen, wrote on his Facebook page that Robert was “one of the most gentle and funny people I’ve ever known. He spent his whole gifted career as a journalist, and he believed profoundly in the craft and mission of serving the public’s right to know the news.”

The gunman opened fire with a shotgun in the newsroom. Dozens of police officers and federal agents responded within minutes. “He entered the building with a shotgun and he located his victims as he walked through the lower level,” William Krampf, Anne Arundel county’s acting police chief, said at a news conference.

Krampf said said a package earlier feared to contain explosives was found to contain smoke canisters. “This person was prepared to shoot people. His intention was to cause harm,” he said.

Phil Davis (@PhilDavis_CG)

There is nothing more terrifying than hearing multiple people get shot while you're under your desk and then hear the gunman reload

Annapolis: witnesses described deadly shooting on social media as it unfolded

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Injured victims were taken to hospitals including the shock trauma center at the University of Maryland and the Anne Arundel Medical Center. Four people were found dead at the scene and a fifth died in hospital.

Danielle Ohl said fellow reporter Rachael Pacella was injured and hospitalized. “For those reaching out with support, I thank you,” Ohl tweeted. “I will say this: The Capital is not a big newsroom. There are about 20 news staffers, a few more advertising. We are close. We are family. I am devastated.”

Steve Schuh, the Anne Arundel county executive,told CNN the gunman was found by police hiding under a desk in the office with his gun on the floor beside him. .

Bethany Clasing, a legal assistant who works on the floor above the Capital Gazette, told the Guardian: “I was really confused at first – it’s not like you would expect someone to come and shoot up this building.”

Clasing said police officers arrived quickly. “They were shouting to get down,” she said. She was then evacuated across the street to a shopping mall.

Carlos Linares, a mechanical engineer who was on the fourth floor for a meeting with his lawyer, said he heard a man shouting at about 2.55pm, followed by a commotion. “I’ve never see so many cops in my life,” said Linares, who said he was also in the Pentagon when it was attacked on 9/11.

Officials said police officers responded within 90 seconds of receiving an emergency call. About 170 people were soon seen streaming from the offices, many with their hands in the air.

Gavin Buckley, the Annapolis mayor, praised the responding officers. “If they were not there as quickly it could have been a lot worse,” he said. The mayor said city authorities recently underwent active shooter training.

. Two state highways were closed in Anne Arundel county because of the police activity, according to the Maryland state highway administration.

The attack was the latest in a series of mass shootings in the US in the past year that have renewed calls among Democrats and activists for tighter restrictions on gun ownership, which are dismissed by Republicans.

Congressman Anthony Brown, whose district includes the newspaper’s office, told the Guardian he was “deeply saddened and troubled”. “Too many times around the country, in such a short period of time,” he said, “churches, theaters and today in a newsroom.”

The shooting prompted new condemnation of Donald Trump’s demonisation of the media. The president has repeatedly called the press “the enemy of the people” and encourages crowds at his rallies to join him in deriding journalists. Returning to the White House after a visit to Wisconsin, Trump smiled and silently walked past reporters who shouted questions about the shooting and his comments on the press.

Lindsay Walters, a White House spokeswoman, said Trump and his staff did not condone violence in any situation.

Trump said in a tweet he had been briefed. “My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families,” he wrote. “Thank you to all of the first responders who are currently on the scene.”

The New York police department sent officers to the headquarters of major media organisations in the city as a precaution.

A Twitter page under the same name as the suspect used the internet handle @EricHartleyFrnd. The user introduced himself by saying: “Dear reader: I created this page to defend myself. Now I’m suing the shit out of half of AA County and making corpses of corrupt careers and corporate entities.” The Capital Gazette newspaper is based in Anne Arundel county.

The Twitter feed was silent from January 2016 until Thursday afternoon. Then an entry said: “Fuck you, leave me alone”.